[6] The river flows along the southern edges of Black Mesa, Oklahoma's highest point.

Before the Keystone Dam was built, this silt was sufficient to discolor the Arkansas River downstream.

The first Europeans to see the Cimarron River were apparently Spanish conquistadores led by Francisco Vásquez de Coronado in 1541.

In 1819 Thomas Nuttall explored the lower Cimarron and wrote a report describing the flora and fauna that he found there.

In 1821 Mexico threw off Spanish rule and William Becknell opened the Santa Fe Trail.